In 1988, the Canadian Council of Ministers of Environment (CCME) identified used oil as Canada’s largest single-source of potentially hazardous material if not properly managed. It subsequently requested that the industry, through the Canadian Petroleum Products Institute (CPPI), renamed Canadian Fuels Association (CFA), address the issue.
The CPPI established the Used Oil Task Force which culminated in the 1991 Montreal Meeting where the recycling focus shifted from the government to sellers of lubricating products.
Subsequently, the Western Canadian Used Oil/Container/Filter Industry Task Force realized the importance of harmonizing the collection of used oil materials across western Canada. From this grew the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) program model currently used in nine Canadian provinces.